Woman's Hospital continues to set the standard for women's cancer care in Baton Rouge as it recently received reaccreditation from the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC) and the American College of Surgeons' Commission on Cancer.
Woman’s received a three-year/full accreditation by the NAPBC through demonstrated compliance with 27 required standards. According to the NAPBC, "accreditation challenges breast cancer centers to enhance the care they provide by addressing patient-centered needs and measuring the quality of the care they deliver against national standards. NAPBC-accredited breast centers are dedicated to providing the best patient-centered care."
Accreditation by the NAPBC is granted only to centers that are voluntarily committed to providing the best possible care to patients with diseases of the breast. To maintain accreditation, Woman’s must monitor compliance with NAPBC standards to ensure quality care and undergo a rigorous on-site evaluation and review of its performance every three years. Woman’s was initially accredited by the NAPBC in May, 2011.
In addition, Woman's received a three-year/full accreditation with commendation by the American College of Surgeons’ Commission on Cancer. The hospital demonstrated compliance with all 34 Commission on Cancer required standards and earned a Silver Commendation rating by meeting five of the eight commendation eligible standards .
The Commission on Cancer accreditation encourages hospitals to improve their quality of patient care through various cancer-related programs. These programs are concerned with the full continuum of cancer care from prevention through end-of-life or survivorship. To maintain this accreditation, a facility must monitor compliance with required standards encompassing all areas of the cancer program, including program management, clinical services, continuum of care services, patient outcomes and data quality. The facility must also undergo an on-site evaluation every three years to demonstrate compliance.
Established in 1922 by the American College of Surgeons, the Commission on Cancer is a consortium of professional organizations dedicated to improving patient outcomes and quality of life for cancer patients through standard-setting, prevention, research, education, and the monitoring of comprehensive, quality care.
The American Cancer Society (ACS) estimated that there would be 232,340 patients diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in the United States in 2013. In addition, hundreds of thousands of women who will deal with benign breast disease this year will require medical evaluation for treatment options.